The present invention relates generally to a device for singulating recyclable materials and more particularly to a device and method for singulating inhomogeneous materials.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that in order to facilitate recycling of used materials or machining scraps, the materials first need to be separated. The same holds true with certain virgin materials such as ores and the like. The objects are typically inhomogeneous with respect to shape and size. It will further be appreciated by those skilled in the art that separation often requires presentation of the objects to an identification means such as a sensor (one at a time) in order to identify the objects accurately. Identification of multiple objects at the same time is more difficult and, in some cases, currently impossible. Once identified, it is only feasible to separate the objects accurately if they are individually available to an injection system.
What is needed, then, is a system and method for individually ordering inhomogeneous objects. This needed system and method must also be able to separate objects accurately for sensing as well as for separation. This system and method is presently lacking in the prior art.